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Kindness – a single kindness lasts

It hadn’t been much of an expression. It took only a few seconds of the American soldier’s time. He merely comforted and fed the Polish boy he chanced across in the Dachau concentration camp. He also gave him an American flag-handkerchief before leaving. That single encounter re-ignited that boy’s faith in humanity that Nazi thugs had trampled under their jack boots.

The little boy, now a 90 year-old man, carries with him the American flag handkerchief the soldier gave him. He’s never found the man who revived his hope in small acts of kindness. Maybe he never will. But his own life focused on helping at-risk young people. That may have happened even if the soldier hadn’t stopped and talked to him. But who knows? Many of the men from the Kwai death camps returned to civilian life and to people-focused careers. San Diego U-T, 6/11/17

While we sometimes seek the great event to make a difference, we overlook the small that always make a difference once seized. A smile will do it. A hand-grasp. A hug. A friendly greeting. A congratulatory statement. Asking someone if he’s alright or can you help. Whatever it is, when we have the chance to think small and do small, take advantage, think and do!